FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[LinemenRathletes2]

P.S. I do actually love Samko, is it safe to say that Tufts, with a 2-6 record last year, has cemented it's place in mediocrity? Was Tufts not the most over-rated team a few years back just b/c they got a lot of attention from Boston media, also, with that record how do they not get considered 'bottom feeders' with the likes of Wesleyan, Hamilton, Bates

[Trin9-0]

I'm amazed that Tufts isn't much more of a football power in the NESCAC considering all of it's recruiting advantages. It has excellent academics, a good campus, a great social scene, the largest student body in the league. It's one of the most nationally recognizable names among NESCAC schools.

And its most important feature... it's location, 10 minutes outside Boston! This should not only give them the inside track on all the football talent from eastern Mass (which is the heartland of NESCAC football recruiting) but also attracts kids who are looking for that big time college experience in arguably the best college-city in the U.S.

Every year they seem to have enough talent to win their first couple of games agaist the bottom tier teams. Then they split with the average teams and lose to the top tier. It seems that Samko is doing just enough to keep his job. Maybe he is lucky enough to be in the same situation as Hauser, where the school is just happy to field a team and isn't overly concerned with winning games as long as they are competitive.

I think if TU had a coach dedicated to winning championships they would have similar success to that of Trinity and/or Williams.

[malden]

Informtive discussions about the have's and have not's in the NESCAC with respect to Football competitiveness and traditions, I am told on the Eph Blog site they reported the 2010 recruits for Williams, the 14 tips as they are referred to, had an average SAT score of 1405. After reading all the prior debates and complaints about recruiting philosophies, that average if true is very impressive, if Williams can at the same time keep its winning tradition on the field it is even more impressive. They surely can run a complex offensive and defensive scheme.       

[LinemenRathletes2]

I have a hard time believing that SAT score would translate directly into schematic football capability. Some of the dumbest people I have ever known have great football minds and vice versa

[Trin9-0]

I would be very suprised if someone on Ephblog knew the average SAT scores for it's football tips. However, if it is true then the coaches at Williams are doing some excellent recruiting. The average SAT score as reported by Williams College for last years entire incoming freshman class was 1410.

Therefore, I would be amazed if the football program needed to use all of it's tips (generally used to get at risk recruits into school) on students who averaged 1405. Then again, maybe they just did an excellent job of finding those borderline Ivy League kids who are looking to play right away and possibly be 2 sport athletes.

As far as how SAT scores relate to a football IQ, I agree with linemen, that some dummies are quite capable of learning schemes... but it couldn't hurt either.

[dirtybirds8-0]

If the correlation between IQ's and runnig complex offensive and defensive schemes holds any weight....then would'nt Trinity have to beconsidered as one of the smartest teams in the NESCAC? 

But how could that be....we have much lower standards right?

[formerbant10]

Is that 1405 average out of 1600 or the new 2400?

[bant551]

haha, formerbant that is a pretty good question.

Also, I'd be shocked if Williams' football team had an average of 1405 to the schools' 1410.  I fully agree that Ivy-qualifying kids (both athletically and academically) usually flock to Amhert or Williams to play a 2nd sport... but usually that accounts for less than a FULL recruiting class.  My guess is that they (Amherst and Williams) usually get a handful of those Ivy guys, not 14!

Or maybe they want to adjust from the "simple schemes" Bullfrog was talking about, and they think in order to do so, they need a bunch of scientists running around the field (you know, REAL scientists as opposed to us scientists of the political or social variety).

[chessdoc]

give up the cerebral bunk and get ready for 2 a days. as for the coaching shifts in the league what do u guys know. also I thought florida was the hot bed??? my bad, its western mass??? where is texas when u needem

[mariner75]

Been away for a few days so I'll have to chime in now on the Tufts discussion as one of the Jumbo supporters here.  Samko is definitely "unique"...a good guy who really does work hard to help out the guys for the future (i.e. life after college).  He also is old school.....3 yards and a cloud of dust offensive mentality.  When he has that big back (Kelly), the offense succeeds.  Unfortuantely the past few years that haven't had that type of back in Medford.  They have continued to enjoy mixed success (in almost every game but losing too many close one's) as their defense consistently has had the better players and schemes.  Give Walsh credit....he is a VERY good defensive coach and motivator.  I'm sure the Bant supporters will emphasize the conditions in last year's game, but if you were there you saw how fortunate Trin was able to get out of town with their 7-0 win.

Tufts is changing the offensive coordinator this year so it'll be interesting to see if they can open it up a bit.  I agree, given all of the positive aspects of Tufts (location, reputation, etc.) you'd expect they could be a bit more consistent in the win column than they've been the past few years.

[frank uible]

chessdoc: I'm with you. You play the games on the schedule. Win, lose or (it used to be) draw - you move on to the next one. No need for complaints or explanations- if you are sufficiently dissatisfied with an opponent's behavior, on the field, at the admissions office or otherwise, then you remove it from the schedule.

[bant551]

Tufts beat Trinity a few times when I was there, and I thought they had good records.  When we were 7-1, I think we had a lot of trouble moving the ball against them in the rain (and they weren't able to do anything on O at all).  I don't have the impression that they can't get a good team together over there... must have been a more recent phenomenon that they haven't been that good (or maybe they had a few "on" years while I was there).

[mariner75]

Bant......if we're remembering the same game, I believe Tufts lost 13-12 due to extra point mishaps...the 2002 game?

[bant551]

Yeah, it was in 2002.  I didn't remember the score, but I knew the weather was awful.  It probably was a 1-point game because, if I recall correctly, except for Hamilton and Wesleyan that year, our other 5 wins were by a very tiny margin.

[nescac1]

The 1405 source on Williams seems pretty solid -- a player who heard from his coach.  But, the same thread on Ephblog notes that at least one of the tips had an SAT well over 1500 (and was tipped for other reasons, most likely, like grades).  A few guys like that out of 14, and suddenly, the 1405 average is not so surprising ... many were probably still in the 1250-1350 range, with a few outliers skewing the average up.  Combination of rising standards for Eph football recruits overall (those 1100 guys don't get in any more) and, I'm guessing, a one year statistical anomaly. 

I think the Trinity legit-or-not topic has been discussed to death at this point, hopefully the board will just focus on the fall at this point. 

I think Williams has a shot at Trinity, no one is going to beat Trinity with a grind-em-out style, but if you can open it up and get one or two quick scores, that is the best hope ... Trinity is not used to airing it out, and with (I assume) Barnard at QB, they will be an option run-first team for certain.  The Ephs have the weapons to do it -- two of the best WR's and the best receiving TE's in the league, a good offensive line (although they lose three starters, their returning center is all-league and they have some absolutely enormous rising juniors who have been biding their time), what should be a MUCH improved running game, with four legit TB's fighting for time, and a ton of depth at WR.  Of course, the key is QB play -- if Gleason and Lucey play the way they did towards the end of the season, Williams is looking strong, but if they take time to find their rhythm like last year, Trinity will prove impossible to beat.  The bigger question for the Ephs is, can they win at Amherst for the first time in many years?  The two teams look pretty even yet again, with an edge for the Ephs on offense and an edge for the Jeffs on D. 

The Ephs defense has a lot more question marks.  They lose their top defensive lineman, top LB (Pritchard, who was kicked out of school), and half of their secondary.  They don't really have any superstars up front, except potentially MLB Fersen who is big and fast, but they do have a nice balance of big, experienced defensive linemen (three big seniors rotating at DE, a couple of DT's who run over 280), fast LB's, and a secondary anchored by all-league CB Moffie.  If they can fill the holes in the secondary and a few of the experienced guys up front develops into a pass-rusher, watch-out.  But the sheer number of questions on defense means that the Ephs go into the season basically tied for second with Colby and Amherst (another team with a ton of offensive firepower returning).